22nd April 2013

This last weekend passed without incident. Mostly due to me falling ill with a cold for the second time within a month. I still soldiered on with the beer quest, though. Which may not have been completely wise, being unable to breathe through your nose does hinder your sense of taste somewhat.

Let's get on with the show.

Achel Blond (Belgium)

I wasted money on this. Not because it's bad, but because I had a bottle of this at home and instead I needed the "Bruin" version of this, which I don't have. They put them both in to identical bottles to confuse me. The money wasn't completely wasted though. My mistake meant that I got to drink this twice, which is a good thing. 

Trappist beer is good. This is fact. And although I drank this cloudy conconction with a hangover after an amazing Funeral for a Friend gig, it didn't affect my stomach, and in fact crowned what was an amazing weekend for me.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA (USA)

This beer was another balls-up on my part. I'd already drank this months ago, I'd written notes and everything. Unfortunately I somehow allowed myself to throw the notes away without writing them to blog. So then I had to go on a hunt to find it again. But find it I did, and I think my second opinion was not as glowing as the first.

This was drank in a rather nice pub in Helsinki, at a time when there was an "IPA Festival" taking place. I'd already drank a fantastic Finnish IPA, the name of which I've long forgotten, by the time I got to this. Although this is a really good beer, some of the shine had been taken off, and it wasn't quite as good as I'd remembered. I'd still definitely recommend it though. Great beer.

15th April 2013

The sun is finally coming out now, and the temperature is rising, and I've already had my first outdoor beer of the year. Beer season has officially begun.

Weihenstephaner Hefe-Weissbier (Germany)

Another wheat beer that I'm no longer afraid of. Although this one did have the strange taste, a bit like cold beans, but it doesn't bother me at all any more. A beer from the world's oldest brewery, apparently, it's a little bit smokey and starts to taste a bit funky when it gets a bit warmer. So drink it fast.

Rogue Mocha Porter (USA)

If I based by blog on the notes my friends made about this beer, I'd be here writing about Stalinism and the Soviet Union. Of course, their opinions were based solely on the appearance of the bottle. Unfortunately, I drank this immediately after the excellent Founders Breakfast Stout which was rather bitter at 60IBU. That meant I couldn't taste this milder beer as much as I would have liked. The coffee taste doesn't hit you at once, but half a minute later you'd think you'd been drinking espresso. It was a very good beer, and I would give it another chance with a clean palate... if only it wasn't so expensive here in Finland.

8th April 2013

Spring is now threatening to arrive here in Finland. This weekend I went to buy a sun lounger to prepare for the inevitable disappointing summer. And yesterday evening it snowed. Brilliant.

Oh, and in case you hadn't noticed, I've gone back to writing about two beers per week. Rejoice.

Deuchars IPA (Scotland)

I bloody love a good IPA. Unfortunately, this is just not that good. When it comes to the pale ales, I much prefer the American ones, which are so bitter that they make you screw your face so that you look like you're trying not to sneeze. This wasn't like that. It was too easy on the palate, too light on the tastebuds, just not enough umph. This is in no way a terrible beer, but India Pale Ale is my favourite beer style, and during my blogging I've had what I would consider to be some of the best from across the world. This was just nowhere near a frankly ridiculously high standard.

König Ludwig Weissbier (Germany)

As regular readers of this blog will know, I don't usually like weissbier. So I was a bit apprehensive about ordering this, but it's in the book so I don't really have a choice. Fortunately, this was a really great beer. I think I'm finally turning to the white side. But I also think that it's only the German ones that I can manage, I still have to work my way up to those bizarre tasting Belgian things. And also, look at that glass. Just look at it! I wish I'd stolen it.

1st April 2013

So it was Easter, which meant that Monday was a day off work, which meant that my internal calendar went haywire and I had no idea what day of the week it was, so I forgot to write my blog. Yesterday I was just lazy, no excuses.

Old Empire (England)

Saturday evening, I'm at home drinking this. Pen and paper at the ready to write some brilliant literature about a great British beer. Except that doesn't happen. I can't think of anything to write other that I like the beer, but there's just nothing that excites me about it. Apparently this is similar to the stuff that they used to serve a century ago in the "Old Empire". One bonus it gets is that it reminded me that I should watch more cricket, since the brewery sponsors the England cricket team. I guess that advertising in reverse.

Coopers Best Extra Stout (Australia)

When people think of Australian beers they tend of think of some crappy lager, mentioning no names... *cough* Fosters *cough*. In fact I had no idea that the chaps down under could even brew proper beer. This, however, is one of the finest stouts I've had so far. I know I say that about every stout, but they all just taste so good. Thanks to the Aussie Bar in Helsinki for this gem.

25th March 2013

Last weekend I went to Helsinki to see an exceptionally awesome gig by Funeral for a Friend, my most favourite band ever. If you've never heard of them check them out, just don't blame me if you don't like it.

And as you may have noticed there was no blog last week. This was due to me being bed-ridden with a debilitating fever. I'm much better now, and I'm feeling generous, so I decided to give you two beers this week to make up for it.

Rodenbach Grand Cru (Belgium)

This is one of those beers I just don't get, and neither could the three friends who also tried this stuff. I don't know if it's supposed to taste like that, but if it is, then who the hell orders this stuff? The book says that this is a "blended" beer, and to me it tastes like they blended Dr. Pepper with sour milk. If you are ever thinking about attempting to tackle the "1001 beers you must try before you die", a word of advice: Save this one for last, because it might very well end you. Really disgusting.

Bikini Blonde Lager (USA)

Brewed and canned in Hawaii, I'm sure this stuff is perfect for hot days on the beach after a fortnight of surfing. Light and refreshing, and a little bit citrusy, this is definitely one of the best lagers I've had. Even though I think I drank this in December. In Finland. At least it took my mind to warmer climes.

11th March 2013

So, the football game didn't go exactly the way I wanted it to, as Barnsley were twatted 5-0 by Manchester City. But you can't will them all, hell, we can't even win a few. Still nice to drink some nice beer to help you forget your pain.

Bintang (Indonesia)

The name Bintang doesn't really work very well in English. It brings to mind a sour taste you would find in your rubbish. And I'll be honest, after having a couple of Asian beers that didn't have much flavour, I wasn't expecting much from this. But I can happily report that I was pleasantly surprised. It was strong, yet fresh and a little bit fruity... a bit like this gif of Jean-Claude Van Damme...

4th March 2013

As fans of my Facebook page might know, last week I moved house. So I had many more things to do that to write about beer. Granted it only takes about 15 minutes, but I thought the 15 minutes would be better spent wrapping plates in newspaper as if it's going to offer any protection when I drop the whole box.

Grottenbier (Belgium)

Grottenbier sounds a little bit pornographic, although once the yeasty smell hits your nose you'll be thinking about non-pornographic things. It smelled a bit like unbaked bread, and that's a little bit how it tasted too. Imagine you've taken a bit bite of your favourite wholegrain and chewed on it for a few minutes. You are now imagining the taste of Grottenbier. I'm probably not doing it any favours, because I'm making it sound disgusting when it really isn't. And it did look like severely muddy water.

So in conclusion:

Looks: dirty

Tastes: bready

Sounds: Pornographic

Add all these things and it's a winner. It shouldn't be. But it is.